Force Of Nature
by The Plasma King
Summary: In Arkham City and beyond, a new foe awaits Batman. A foe who is more powerful and cunning than anyone he has ever encountered, and this new adversary will stop at nothing to get what he wants and will leave a path of death and destruction in his wake.


**A/N: This story is a challange issued to me by Storylover213, who gave the details for nearly everything. The OC's powers, what he does, what his goals are. But I'm happy to accept. Enjoy.**

**XXXXXX**

It all seemed so unreal. Bruce Wayne found himself about to enter Arkham City, the new super prison of Gotham, and Hugo Strange knew that he and Batman were one and the same. He had just seen Black Mask attempt (and fail) to fight off some of the guards, and now only a tall chain link fence seperated him from scores of murderers and theives. One ofthe men who was about to enter the prison as well turned around and said to Bruce "you're on my list Wayne" and then mimed shooting him before turning back around.

"Charming fellow isn't he?" said a voice behind him. Bruce had never before heard the voice, but it still sent him chills up and down his spine like a Joker laugh. It sounded... predatory and snake-like. The billionaire turned around and met quite an unusual sight. Standing before him was a man dressed in nothing but black. A leather trench-coat, cowboy boots with the silver spurs still attatched to them, leather gloves, and a slouch hat. His skin made him look like a zombie. He was fairly tall and wiry. Bruce looked into the stranger's storm cloud colored eyes. They seemed both empty, but energetic, as if he had nothing to lose. "I do hope you know how to defend yourself Wayne. You seem like the kind of person who is bound to interfere." He lookex forward into the madness and didn't speak another word. Not even as Bruce was beaten into a blackout by the Penguin and hauled away. He merely stood there with a smirk aross his lips.

**XXXXXX**

"Order! Order in the Court!" Two-Face shouted as he tried to make himself heard over the excited shouts of his gang. Batman looked down at them from a balcony overlooking the main floor. He had to plan carefully, or Harvey would heedlessly kill Catwoman, the only trail Batman had as to what was going on in Arkham City. He looked at the room in its entirety, trying to think of a strategy that would result in everyone walking out of the courthouse alive. It was hard to ignore Harvey's irritated shouts. "ORDER! I WILL HAVE... What the..." Almost instantly the electricity of the air died away, and Batman could see why. Everyone, including him, was looking as the strange man dressed as a nightmare from earlier slowly made his way towards Two-Face. The only noise that emitted in the vast room was the calm but wary breathing of the inmates, and the clicks produced by the stranger's spurs. Finally he managed to get close enough so that he could look up and lock eyes with Harvey who was safely inside a judge seat behind thick glass. Batman could not help but wonder what thoughts were swimming through Harvey's twisted mind as he gazed into those dark grey eyes.

Finally one of the goons must have realized that the freak did not belong where he was and came running at him with a pipe. The darkly dressed mystery simply stood his ground as the thug swung down at him. But in a flash, the stranger was also gripping the pipe, leaving the two of them in a deadlock. The inmate looked as if he had been slapped, the other looked either bored or amused... or both. The man garbed with black made his own arm straighten and thrust forward, making the pipe soar right into the inmate's face. Obviously the goon released the blunt weapon and fell onto his back, cursing in pain as blood gushed from his nose.

This was just the distraction Batman needed. He soared into the fray and made quick work of the gang. The dark man just watched. When all the men were finally down, Batman felt a searing pain his leg after hearing a loud bang! Harvey had shot him.

XXXXXX

"Hope you didn't run into any serious trouble in there, Batman," the man garbed in black said outside on a rooftop across the street from the now empty courthouse. Right now, Batman had a trail that could possibly lead him to the Joker, but right now he had to know something, _anything, _about whoever this was standing before him. He took into account that both of them had means of traveling fair distances in short amounts of time since both of them were currently on a four-story roof.

"Who are you?" Batman asked getting straight to the point.

"Me? I'm not your concern... _yet._" He still had that predatory tone in his voice.

"You're not answering my question."

"I have no need to." He turned around. "I have no time to toy around with you. I have things to do." He began to walk.

"Do not turn your back on me." Batman warned as he reached for a batarang in his utility belt.

"Too late." He didn't stop walking. Batman was never one to believe in second warnings. He threw the batarang straight towards the stranger. Behind his cowl his eyes widened as his projectile frozen in midair when it was less than a foot away from its target. It just hung in the air, frozen in time. The man also stopped walking right when the batarang froze. He turned back towards Batman but kept his attention towards the batarang. He looked at it for moment, and then to Batman's amazement his weapon began _moving around _on its own. It was as if an invisible hand was turning it around so the man in black could get a decent inspection of it. Finally the batarang ceased it movement and the stranger looked back towards the Caped Crusader.

"Very well," he said with little to no emotion. "I can see you are not going to leave me alone now. You may call me _Wraith._ And if you get in my way..." He brought his right hand up so that it was level with his face. He slowly closed it into a fist. As he did, Batman heard a creaking noise coming from right next to Wraith. He looked to the side to see the floating batarang still level with Wraith's head. The Bat's eyes again widened as he witnessed his batarang slowly crumple up into an orb. He looked back into Wrairth's stormy eyes. They were full of excitement and amusement. "I shall crush you from the inside out."

"What _are _you?" Batman asked with a level voice. He couldn't allow this new possible adversary to know he already had a psychological edge.

"To be as modest as I can..." He fanned out his hand and the small marble that was once a batarang flew off into the city, probably never to be seen again. "I'm a force of nature." He turned to face the edge of the roof. On its side was the fire escape. He brought his arms up again and tensed them. Batman heard a more thunderous noise and minor destruction. Wraith relaxed his arms and began walking down his homemade ramp, made out of the fire escape. He jumped down onto the streets and walked off into the super-prison. Batman looked on at him until Wraith disappeared.

"Oracle," Batman said into the communication system within his cowl. "I need you to gain access to Arkham City's security cameras and keep an eye on this... Wraith character."

"Already on it Batman," she replied.

**XXXXXX**

Wraith made his way around the prison, not sure exactly as to what to do first. The first move shouldn't always be a subtle one. He then heard a ringing sound not too far away as he walked down one of the desecrated streets with his hands in his overcoat's pockets. He may have been extremely powerful, but he was still human and vulnerable to the enviroment. He looked over and saw three inmates look at an old payphone. They were daring each other to answer it. After a few rings, all of them chickened out and dispersed. Wraith knew he had all the time in the world, so he decided to amuse himself and see what had the trio of hardened criminals so scared. He answered it.

"If you're selling something, I doubt anyone here could afford it," he said into the receiver.

"I can see you, little piggy." The voice on the other side of the line was... disturbing o Wraith. The man sounded hollow and void. His voice didn't change as he continued, "Better count your last precious moments."

"I could say the same to you," Wraith said with a challange in his voice. "I'm waiting. Your move." He hung up and moved on.

**XXXXXX**

**A/N: Well, this is my first challange, and it was a lot of fun to write. Storylover213 said Wraith could either have the powers of Magneto or be bound to a Symbiote. I choose to give him Magneto's powers because a Symbiote would make this too much like my flagship story, _Gotham's Saviors._**


End file.
